A Most Improper Duchess

She played the perfect widow. He returned with the truth that could destroy her. Together, they'll burn society to the ground. London, 1881. Eleanor Winthrop, Duchess of Ashworth, is the picture of propriety—beautiful, composed, and utterly alone in her gilded cage. Two years after her husband's suspicious death, she hosts a memorial ball to mark the end of her mourning… and the beginning of her rebellion. But when Julian Thorne—her late husband's disgraced protégé and the only man who ever saw *her*, not her title—walks back into her life, Eleanor's carefully constructed facade begins to crack. Soon, they're entangled in a web of opium smuggling, political blackmail, and a secret syndicate known only as *Hermes*—one that silenced her brother and may have killed her husband. As danger closes in and scandal erupts across London's drawing rooms, Eleanor must choose: preserve her reputation… or risk everything for truth, justice, and a love she never dared imagine. From bold new voice Abi Thomas comes a sensual, suspenseful, and fiercely feminist debut that redefines the Victorian romance—where the real scandal isn't desire… it's daring to be free. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton's heat, Sarah MacLean's heroines, and the gothic intrigue of Laura Purcell.